Memory modules and memory systems having the same

ABSTRACT

A memory module includes a port configured to receive write data and command/address signals and multiple memory devices. The multiple memory devices include a first set of the memory devices, each memory device of the first set coupled to the port, and a second set of the memory devices, each memory device of the second set configured to receive associated write data and associated command/address signals for the memory device through at least one of the other memory devices of the first set and the second set.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.2005-42789 filed on May 21, 2005 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice (KIPO), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates to memory modules and memory systems having thesame, and more particularly to memory modules operating at highoperating clock frequencies and memory systems having the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional memory module.FIG. 1 shows a memory module having eight×8 dynamic random access memory(DRAM) devices.

Referring to FIG. 1, a command/address bus 12 (CA) is split to becoupled to each of the eight DRAM devices 20-1 to 20-8. Eight read/writedata buses 14 (DQ) are respectively coupled to the eight DRAM devices20-1 to 20-8.

As an operating speed of memory devices increases, it becomes moredifficult for the memory devices to share a command/address bus CA and aread/write data bus due to the capacitive loading of input/output (I/O)lines of the memory devices. Conventional synchronous dynamic randomaccess memory (SDRAM) modules and double data rate (DDR) memory modules,with operating speeds in a range from 100 MHz to 800 MHz, may have amulti-drop configuration in which a command/address bus CA issimultaneously coupled to eight or nine DRAM devices.

A memory module 10 may have about 20 command/address pins, 64 (8×8) datapins, about 60 power pins, and a few other pins for specific functions.For example, a memory module with SDRAM devices may have 168 pins. WithDDR memory devices, the memory module may have 184 pins. With DDR2memory devices, the memory module may have 232 pins.

As memory devices evolve, operating speeds supported by the memorydevices may increase. In addition, the number of pins may increase. Forexample, a maximum data transfer rate of a DDR3 memory is about 1,600Mbps. A next-generation memory developed after the DDR3 memory may havea data transfer rate of about 3,200 Mbps. However, the next generationmemory may not stably receive or transmit in noisy environments if usingconventional single-ended signaling in which one data bit is received ortransmitted using one data pin. Specifically, when memory devices havean operating clock frequency over one GHz, a desired signal integrity(SI) may not be achieved due to capacitive loads of nodes (i.e., nodescoupled to the memory devices).

A next generation memory device may use differential signaling, in whichone data bit is received or transmitted using two data pins.Differential signaling may be needed to support a data transfer rate ofmore than about 3,200 Mbps.

However, a memory module that uses differential signaling requires twiceas many pins as those of a memory module that uses single endedsignaling because two data pins are required to transmit or receive onebit. For example, when there are 64 data lines, as shown in FIG. 1, 128data pins are required to transmit or receive 64 data bits. It iscurrently difficult to design a memory module having more than 250 pinsdue to current personal computer (PC) design limits and associatedmechanical limits. Thus, it is difficult to design the memory moduleusing the differential signaling due to the increase of the number ofpins.

When the number of memory devices included in a memory module is reducedso as to avoid the design limits restricting the number of pins in amemory module, data throughput of a memory module decreases.

In addition, in the conventional memory module configuration, the numberof pins of a memory module is increased in a circumstance where a firstmemory module couples to a second memory module via a point-to-pointconnection so as to reduce the effect of the capacitive loads for thepurpose of high-speed operation.

Therefore, it is difficult to use conventional memory modules havingconventional command/address bus architecture and the conventional databus architecture in next generation DRAM having differential signalingand operating at a clock frequency of a few GHz.

SUMMARY

An embodiment includes a memory module including a port configured toreceive write data and command/address signals and multiple memorydevices. The multiple memory devices include a first set of the memorydevices, each memory device of the first set coupled to the port, and asecond set of the memory devices, each memory device of the second setconfigured to receive associated write data and associatedcommand/address signals for the memory device through at least one ofthe other memory devices of the first set and the second set.

Another embodiment includes a memory module including a command/addressport configured to receive command/address signals and multiple memorydevices. The multiple memory devices include a first set of the memorydevices, each memory device of the first set coupled to thecommand/address port, and a second set of the memory devices, eachmemory device of the second set configured to receive associatedcommand/address signals through at least one of the other memory devicesof the first set and the second set.

A further embodiment includes a memory system including multiple memorymodules, with each memory module including a command/address portconfigured to receive command/address signals, a first set of memorydevices, each memory device of the first set coupled to thecommand/address port, and a second set of memory devices, each memorydevice of the second set configured to receive associatedcommand/address signals through at least one of the other memory devicesof the first set and the second set. Each of the memory devices of thefirst and second sets is coupled to a corresponding memory device ofanother memory module by an associated data bus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional memory module;

FIGS. 2A through 2D are block diagrams illustrating memory systemsaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram illustrating write and read operations of amemory module of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a memory device in memory modulesof FIGS. 2A through 2D;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a memory system according toanother embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a timing diagram illustrating a write operation of a secondmemory module MD1 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6B is a timing diagram illustrating write and read operations of afirst memory module MD0 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a memory device in the memorymodule of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 8A through 8D are block diagrams illustrating memory systems inwhich write data and a command/address signal are transmitted through acommon bus according to other embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram illustrating a read operation and a writeoperation of a memory module of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a packet usedin the memory systems in which write data and a command/address signalare transmitted through a common bus;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a memory device in the memorymodules of FIGS. 8A through 8D;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are block diagrams illustrating a memory module inwhich write data and a command/address signal are transmitted through acommon bus according to still other embodiments;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are block diagrams illustrating a memory module inwhich write data and a command/address signal are transmitted through acommon bus according to still other embodiments;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a memory module in which writedata and a command/address signal are transmitted through a common busaccording to still another example embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a memory module in which writedata and a command/address signal are transmitted through a common busaccording to another embodiment; and

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a memory module havingmemory devices with a stack structure according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specific structural andfunctional details disclosed herein are merely representative forpurposes of describing the embodiments. The embodiments may take manyalternate forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, while the embodiments are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described indetail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent tolimit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on thecontrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout the description of thefigures.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between” versus “directly between”, “adjacent” versus “directlyadjacent”, etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As usedherein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Embodiments are discussed under a circumstance in which data signalsoutput from a plurality of data ports of a memory controller arerespectively coupled to a corresponding memory device via apoint-to-point connection through multiple data buses. A command/addresssignal output from a port of a memory controller is directly transferredto at least one memory device of a memory module through acommand/address bus, and then is transferred to the other memory devicesof the memory module via the memory device that is directly coupled tothe memory controller.

FIGS. 2A through 2D are block diagrams illustrating memory systemsaccording to embodiments, FIG. 3 is a timing diagram illustrating writeand read operations of a memory module of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 4 is a blockdiagram illustrating a memory device in memory modules of FIGS. 2Athrough 2D.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the memory system includes a memory module 200 aand a memory controller 290. In this embodiment, data ports andcommand/address ports of the memory controller 290 and memory devicesrespectively have 8 pins. However, in this and other embodiments, dataports and command/address ports may have more or less than 8 pins asdesired.

The data ports D1, D2 and D3 of the memory controller 290 are coupled tothe memory devices 220, 210 and 230 (M1, M2 and M3), respectively,through a data bus WR/RD via a point-to-point connection. The data bus221 coupled to the data port D1 of the memory controller 290 is directlycoupled to the memory device M1, the data bus 211 coupled to the dataport D2 of the memory controller 290 is directly coupled to the memorydevice M2, and the data bus 231 coupled to the data port D3 of thememory controller 290 is directly coupled to the memory device M3.

Although not shown in FIG. 2A, write clock buses 215, 225 and 235 (WCLK)and read clock buses 213, 223, 233 (RCLK) of the memory controller 290are coupled to the memory devices M2, M1 and M3, respectively, via apoint-to-point connection. Write data or read data are transferredthrough the data bus WR/RD, and thus data transfer of the data bus WR/RDis bidirectional.

The command/address signal output from the command/address port C/A ofthe memory controller 290 is directly coupled to the memory device M1via the command/address bus 227. The command/address signal is repeatedby a repeater 450 (refer to FIG. 4) in the memory device 220, and istransferred to other memory devices 210 and 230 inside the memory modulethrough internal command/address buses 219 and 239 (ICA), respectively.For example, the command/address signal input to the memory device M1 istransferred to other memory devices M2 and M3 by the repeater in thememory device M1.

The command/address signal may be packet data that include addressinformation and an operand representing a command, such as a readcommand and a write command, etc. The command/address signal may betransferred as packet data through the command/address bus 227. Thecommand/address signal may be unidirectionally transferred through thecommand/address bus 227.

The command/address clock signal CACLK is provided to the memory deviceM1 via the command/address clock bus 229, is repeated by the repeater450 in the memory device 220, and is transferred to other memory devices210 and 230 inside the memory module through internal command/addressclock buses 217 and 237 (ICACLK), respectively.

For example, the memory devices 220, 210, 230, 240 and 250 of FIG. 2Athrough 2D, respectively, may be implemented to have the configurationof the memory device in FIG. 4.

The repeater 450 is activated when the memory device 220 repeats thecommand/address signal, and is not activated when the memory device 220does not repeat the command/address signal.

For example, the repeaters of the memory devices 210 and 230 of FIGS.2A, 2B and 2C are not activated because the memory devices 210 and 230of FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C do not perform the repeat function on thecommand/address signal. The repeaters of the memory devices 210 and 230of FIG. 2D are activated during repeating the command/address signalbecause the memory devices 210 and 230 of FIG. 2D perform the repeatfunction on the command/address signal.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the write and read operationsof a memory module (for example, the memory module 200 a of FIG. 2A) areexplained.

Referring to FIG. 3, the command/address signals 301 and 311 are inputto the memory device 220 through the command/address bus 227 in responseto the command/address clock signal CACLK. The command/address signal301 includes data write command WR and address information. Thecommand/address signal 311 includes data read command RD and addressinformation. The command/address signals 301 and 311 may be packet data.

The command/address signals 301 and 311 are input to a packet decoder402 in the memory device 220, and are transferred through acommand/address bypass path 454. After a delay due to thecommand/address bypass path 454, the command/address signals 301 and311, passed through the bypass path 454, are input into the repeater450, and are repeated by the repeater 450 in the memory device 220. Thecommand/address signals 301 and 311 passed through the bypass path 454may still have a packet format. The command/address signals 303 and 313(WRr and RDr) repeated by the repeater 450 are transferred to the memorydevices M2 and M3 through the ICA bus.

In a write operation, the memory controller 290 provides the write dataWRD1, WRD2 and WRD3 to the memory devices M1, M2 and M3, respectively,through the data buses 221, 211 and 231 (WR/RD) in response to the writeclock WCLK. The memory controller 290 may simultaneously apply the writedata WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3 to the data buses 221, 211 and 231.Alternatively, the memory controller 290 may sequentially apply thewrite data WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3 to the data buses 221, 211 and 231.Although the memory controller 290 provides the write data WRD1, WRD2and WRD3 a predetermined time period after an input of the repeatedcommand/address signals 303 and 313 (WRr and RDr) in FIG. 3, thepredetermined time period may vary depending upon write latency.

The write data 305 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) are input to input buffers 462of the memory devices 220 and 230, and are written into memory array 430of a corresponding memory device through a data input register 420.

In a read operation, the command/address signal 313 including a readcommand is repeated by the repeater of the memory device M1, and theread data RDD3, RDD2 and RDD1 are output to the memory controller 290through the data buses 231, 211 and 221 in response to the RCLK after apredetermined time period (i.e., a column address strobe latency throughthe memory devices 220, 210 and 230).

FIG. 2B represents a memory system including five memory devices.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the memory system includes a memory module 200 band a memory controller 290. The memory module 200 b has memory devicesM1 through M5. For example, data ports and command/address ports of thememory controller 290 respectively have 8 pins.

The data ports D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 of the memory controller 290 arecoupled to the memory devices 220, 210, 230, 240 and 250 (M1, M2, M3, M4and M5), respectively, through data buses 221, 211, 231, 241 and 251 viaa point-to-point connection. Although not shown in FIG. 2B, write clockbuses 215, 225, 235, 245 and 255 (WCLK) and read clock buses 213, 223,233, 243 and 253 (RCLK) of the memory controller 290 are coupled to thememory devices M2, M1, M3, M4 and M5, respectively, via a point-to-pointconnection.

The command/address signal is repeated by a repeater 450 (refer to FIG.4) in the memory device M1 disposed in the middle of the memory module200 b, and is transferred to memory devices M2 and M4, which aredisposed adjacent to a first side of the memory device M1, and memorydevices M3 and M5, which are disposed adjacent to a second side of thememory device M1.

Particularly, the command/address signal output from the command/addressport C/A of the memory controller 290 is coupled to the memory device M1through the command/address bus 227. The repeaters in the memory devicesM2 and M3 receive the command/address signal repeated by the memorydevice M1 through a command/address bus ICA1, and the repeaters in thememory device M4 and M5 receive the command/address signal repeated bythe memory device M1 through a command/address bus ICA2.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the command/address bus ICA1 and thecommand/address bus ICA2 may be separately managed so as to reducelatency required for re-driving the command/address signal.

Here, the command/address signal may be transferred as packet datathrough the command/address bus 227. The command/address signal may beunidirectionally transferred through the command/address bus 227.

Alternatively, the memory device M2, M3, M4 or M5 other than the memorydevice M1 may receive the command/address signal from the memorycontroller 290 and re-drive the received command/address signal toretransmit the repeated command/address signal to another memory device.

The command/address clock signal CACLK is provided to the memory deviceM1 via the command/address clock bus 229 from the memory controller 290,is repeated by the repeater 450 in the memory device 220, and istransferred to the memory devices 210 and 230 inside the memory module200 d through internal command/address clock buses 217 and 237 (ICACLK),respectively. In addition, the command/address clock signal CACLKrepeated by the repeater 450 of the memory device 220 is transferred tothe memory devices 240 and 250 through the internal command/addressclock buses 242 and 252 (ICACLK), respectively.

FIG. 2C represents a memory system according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the command/address signal is repeated by therepeater of the memory device M1, and is transferred to the memorydevices M2 and M4 through a common command/address bus (ICA) 219 and istransferred to the memory devices M3 and M5 through a commoncommand/address bus (ICA) 239. By using the common command/address bus(ICA), the number of memory pins may be reduced.

In addition, the command/address clock signal is repeated by therepeater in the memory device M1, and transferred to the memory devicesM2 and M4 through a common command/address clock bus (ICACLK) 217 andtransferred to the memory devices M4 and M5 through a commoncommand/address clock bus (ICACLK) 237. By using the commoncommand/address clock signal bus (ICACLK), the number of memory pins maybe reduced. That is, the memory device M1 may transfer thecommand/address signal and/or command/address clock signal to anothermemory device such as memory device M2, M3, M4 or M5 through a commonmemory pin, thereby reducing the number of memory pins.

FIG. 2D represents a memory system according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the memory system includes a memory module 200 band a memory controller 290. The memory module 200 b has memory devicesM1 through M5. For example, data ports and command/address ports of thememory controller 290 respectively have 8 pins.

The data ports D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 of the memory controller 290 arecoupled to the memory devices 220, 210, 230, 240 and 250 (M1, M2, M3, M4and M5), respectively, through data buses 221, 211, 231, 241 and 251 viaa point-to-point connection. Although not shown in FIG. 2D, write clockbuses 215, 225, 235, 245 and 255 (WCLK) and read clock buses 213, 223,233, 243 and 253 (RCLK) of the memory controller 290 are coupled to thememory devices M2, M1, M3, M4 and M5, respectively, via a point-to-pointconnection.

The command/address signal is repeated by the repeater 450 in the memorydevice M1 of the memory module 200 d, and is transferred to memorydevices M2 and M3. Memory devices M2 and M3 are disposed adjacent to thememory device M1. The command/address signal repeated by the repeater450 in the memory devices M2 and M3 is transferred to the memory devicesM4 and M5, disposed adjacent to the memory devices M2 and M3,respectively. The memory devices M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 of the memorymodule 220 d are coupled to one another via a point-to-point connection.

Particularly, the repeater in the memory device M2 receives thecommand/address signal repeated by the memory device M1, and transfersthe received command/address signal to the memory device M4 adjacent tothe memory device M2. The repeater in the memory device M3 receives thecommand/address signal repeated by the memory device M1, and transfersthe received command/address signal to the memory device M5 adjacent tothe memory device M3.

The command/address clock signal CACLK is provided to the memory deviceM1 via the command/address clock bus 229 from the memory controller 290,is repeated by the repeater 450 in the memory device M1, and istransferred to the other memory devices M2 and/or M3 of the memorymodule 200 d through internal command/address clock buses 217 and 237(ICACLK), respectively. The memory devices M2 and/or M3 transfers thecommand/address clock signal CACLK to memory devices M4 and M5 of thememory module 200 d through internal command/address clock buses 247 and257 (ICACLK), respectively.

FIG. 4 shows an example of internal blocks of a dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM) device having n×m memory cells. Although the aboveembodiment shows a configuration of the internal blocks of a DRAMdevice, any configuration of a memory device having at least onerepeater and bypass path, or any other configuration known to one ofordinary skill in the art may also be utilized in place of theconfiguration of the internal blocks of the DRAM device of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a memory system according toanother embodiment, FIG. 6A is a timing diagram illustrating a writeoperation of a second memory module MD1 of FIG. 5, FIG. 6B is a timingdiagram illustrating write and read operations of a first memory moduleMD0 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a memorydevice in the memory module of FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 shows a memory system having two memory modules 500 (MD0) and 550(MD1).

The two memory modules 500 and 550 are coupled to each other via a daisychain connection. In the daisy chain connection, the clock signals anddata input to/output from the memory controller 590 may be sequentiallytransferred to the next memory module depending on the orientation.

Referring to FIG. 5, the memory system includes memory modules 500 and550 and a memory controller 590. For example, data ports andcommand/address ports of the memory controller 590 and the memorydevices respectively have 8 pins.

The data port D1 of the memory controller 590 is directly coupled to thememory device 510 (M12) through a data bus 512 (WR/RD), the data port D2of the memory controller 590 is directly coupled to the memory device520 (M11) through a data bus 522 (WR/RD), the data port D3 of the memorycontroller 590 is directly coupled to the memory device 530 (M13)through a data bus 532 (WR/RD).

In a write operation, the memory device 520 (M11) of the memory moduleMD0 transfers the data received from the memory controller 590 to thecorresponding memory device 570 (M21) in the memory module MD1 via thedata bus 572. The memory device 510 (M12) of the memory module MD0transfers the data received from the memory controller 590 to thecorresponding memory device 560 (M22) in the memory module MD1 via thedata bus 562. The memory device 530 (M13) of the memory module MD0transfers the data received from the memory controller 590 to thecorresponding memory device 580 (M23) in the memory module MD1 via thedata bus 582.

In a read operation, the memory device 520 (M11) of the memory module500 (MD0) reads data from the memory device 570 (M21) of the memorymodule 550 (MD1) via the data bus 572, and the memory controller 590reads the data from the memory device 520 (M11) via the data bus 522.The memory device 510 (M12) of the memory module 500 (MD0) reads datafrom the memory device 560 (M22) of the memory module 550 (MD1) via thedata bus 562, and the memory controller 590 reads the data from thememory device 510 (M12) via the data bus 512. The memory device 530(M13) of the memory module 500 (MD0) reads data from the memory device580 (M23) of the memory module 550 (MD1) via the data bus 582, and thememory controller 590 reads the data from the memory device 530 (M13)via the data bus 532.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, write clock buses 516, 526 and 536 (WCLK)and read clock buses 514, 524, 534 (RCLK) of the memory controller 590are coupled to the memory devices 510, 520 and 530 (M12, M11 and M13),respectively, via a point-to-point connection.

The memory devices 520, 510 and 530 of the memory module MD0 transfersthe write clock WCLK received from the memory controller 590 to thememory devices 570, 560 and 580 in the memory module MD1 via the writeclock bus 576, 566 and 586.

The write data or the read data are transferred through the data busWR/RD, and thus, data transfer of the data bus WR/RD is bidirectional.

A first command/address signal CA0 output from the command/address portC/A0 is directly coupled to the memory device M11 in the memory moduleMD0 via the command/address bus 521, and a second command/address signalCA1 output from the command/address port C/A1 is directly coupled to thememory device 570 (M21) in the memory module MD1 via the command/addressbus 571.

The repeater 750 (refer to FIG. 7) of the memory device M11 transfersthe first command/address signal CA0 to other memory devices M12 and/orM13 via the internal command/address buses 513 and 523.

The repeater 750 of the memory device M21 transfers the secondcommand/address signal CA1 to other memory devices M22 and/or M23 viathe internal command/address buses 563 and 573,

The command/address signal may be packet data that includes an addressinformation and an operand that represents a kind of command, such as aread command, a write command, a write request command and a readrequest command, etc. The command/address signal may be transferred aspacket data through the command/address bus 227. The command/addresssignal may be unidirectionally transferred through the command/addressbuses 521 and 571.

A first command/address clock signal CACLK0 is provided to the memorydevice M1 from the memory controller 590 via the first command/addressclock bus 523, is repeated by the repeater 750 in the memory device 520,and is transferred to other memory devices 510 and 530 inside the memorymodule 500 (MD0) through internal command/address clock buses 511 and521 (ICACLK), respectively. The second command/address clock signalCACLK1 is provided to the memory device M21 from the memory controller590 via the second command/address clock bus 573, is repeated by therepeater 750 in the memory device 570, and is transferred to othermemory devices 560 and 580 inside the memory module 550 (MD1) throughinternal command/address clock buses 561 and 571 (ICACLK), respectively.

For example, the memory devices 510, 520, 530, 560, 570 and 580 of FIG.5, respectively, may be implemented to have the configuration of thememory device of FIG. 7. Alternatively, a CA repeater 750 may beincluded only in the memory device that repeats the command/addresssignal. Alternatively, a DQ repeater 780 may be included only in thememory device that repeats the data.

The CA repeater 750 is activated when the corresponding memory devicerepeats the command/address signal, and the DQ repeater 780 is activatedwhen the corresponding memory device repeats the data to other memorydevices.

The CA repeater 750 or the DQ repeater 780 is activated when the memorydevices M11, M12, M13, M21, M22 and M23 of the memory module MD0 and MD1repeat the command/address signal or the data respectively.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B and 7, the write and readoperations of the memory modules (MD1) 550 and 500 are explained.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the memory device M11 of the memorymodule MD0 performs repeating functions of the command/address signaland the data, the memory device M21 of the memory module MD1 performs arepeating function of only the command/address signal, and the memorydevices M12 and M13 of the memory module MD1 perform a repeatingfunction of only the data. The memory devices M22 and M23 of the memorymodule MD1 do not perform any of the repeating function of thecommand/address signal or the repeating function of the data.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 6A and 7, the write and read operations of thememory module 550 are explained.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the memory controller 590 provides the memorydevice M11 with a command/address signal 601 (WRr) having a writerequest command, which requests data to be written into the memorymodule MD1, and a command/address signal 621 (RDr) having a read requestcommand, which requests data to be read from the memory module MD1,through the first command/address bus 521 in response to thecommand/address clock signal CACLK. The memory device of the memorymodule MD0 repeats the data received from the memory controller 590 tothe memory module MD1 in response to the write request command. Thememory device of the memory module MD0 requests to the memory module MD1that the memory module MD1 repeat the data to the memory controller 590in response to the read request command.

The command/address signals 601 and 621 are repeated by the repeater 750of the memory device M11, and are output as internal command/addresssignals 603 and 623 after a predetermined time period (i.e., a latencydue to the CA repeater 750 of the memory device M11 in the memory moduleMD0). The internal command/address signals 603 and 623 are retransmittedto the memory devices M12 and M13 through the internal command/addressbuses (ICA) 513 and 523.

In addition, the memory controller 590 provides the command/addresssignal 605 having the write command, and the command/address signal 625having the read command to the memory device M21 through the secondcommand/address bus 571.

The write command/address signals 605 or the read command/address signal625 is repeated by the repeater of the memory device M21, and are outputas internal command/address signals 607 and 626 after a time period(i.e., a latency due to the CA repeater 750 of the memory device M21 inthe memory module MD1). The internal command/address signals 607 and 626are retransmitted to the memory devices M22 and M23 through the internalcommand/address buses (ICA) 563 and 573.

The write command/address signal 605 may be packet data having the writecommand and the address information, and the read command/address signal625 may be packet data having the read command and the addressinformation.

The write request command, which requests that data be written into thememory module MD1, of the command/address signals 601 and 603 may beused as a DQ repeater control signal (not shown) for activating the DQrepeater 780 of the memory device M11.

When the DQ repeater 780 of the memory devices M11 and M12 and/or M13 isactivated in response to the DQ repeater control signal, the write dataWRD1, WRD2 and WRD3 that are respectively input to the memory devicesM11, M12 and M13 in the memory module MD0 are output to the memorydevices M21, M22 and M23 in the memory module MD1 via a Y0 pin of thememory devices M11, M12 and M13.

Although the repeater 770 of FIG. 7 is implemented by two repeaters,i.e., the CA repeater 750 and the DQ repeater 780, the repeater 770 mayalso be implemented by one repeater.

In a write operation, the memory controller 590 provides the write data611 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) to the memory devices M11, M12 and M13 via thedata buses 522, 512 and 532 in response to the write clock WCLK. Thewrite data 611 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) may be simultaneously output to thedata buses, and alternatively may be sequentially output to the databuses.

The write data may be provided to the memory module MD0 after a timeperiod (i.e., a write latency through the memory device M11 and/or M12or a write latency through the memory device M11 and/or M13), after therepeater of the memory device M21 outputs the command/address signal 607via the ICA.

A control signal 761 is generated based on the command/address signal601 having the write request command WRr, which requests data to bewritten into the memory module MD1, to be output to the input buffer462.

When the write request command WRr, which requests data to be writteninto the memory module MD1, is applied to the memory devices M11, M12and M13, the write data 609 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3), which are receivedthrough the data buses 512, 522 and 532 of the memory module MD0, arenot written into the memory array 430 of the memory devices M11, M12 andM13. Instead, but the write data 609 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) are repeatedby the DQ repeater 780 of the memory devices M11, M12 and M13 and outputto the Y0 pin of the DQ repeater 780 of the memory devices M11, M12 andM13 as write data 611 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) through the data bypass path482. The write data 609 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) are provided to the memorydevices M21, M22 and M23 through the data buses 572, 562 and 582.

The write data 611 (WRD1, WRD2, and WRD3), which are output to the Y0pin of the DQ repeater 780 of the memory devices M11, M12 and M13 arestored in a corresponding memory device among the memory devices M21,M22 and M23 in response to the internal command/address signal 607 thatis received by or transferred from the memory device M21.

In a read operation, the memory devices of the memory module MD1 receivethe read command 626, and output the read data 627 (RDD1, RDD2 and RDD3)to the corresponding memory devices of the memory module MD0 through thedata buses 572, 562 and 582, respectively, after a CAS latency. The readdata 627 (RDD1, RDD2 and RDD3) may be simultaneously output, oralternatively, sequentially output.

Each of the repeaters of the memory devices M11, M12 and M13 in thememory module MD0 is activated in response to the read request commandRDr. The read data RDD1, RDD2 and RDD3, which are output on the databuses 572, 562 and 582 by the memory module MD1, are respectivelyrepeated by the DQ repeaters 780 of the memory devices M11, M12 and M13,are passed through the data bypass path 482, and are output to the databuses 522, 512 and 532.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5, 6B and 7, the write and readoperations of the memory module (MD0) 500 are explained.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the memory controller 590 provides acommand/address 651 having a write command and address information and acommand/address 661 having a read command and address information to thememory device M11 through the command/address bus 521 in response to thecommand/address clock signal CACLK.

The command/address signals 651 and 661, which are input to the memorydevice M11, are delayed by a time period (i.e., an M11 CA repeaterlatency due to the bypass path 454 of FIG. 7), and are repeated by theCA repeater 750 and transferred as the command/address signals 653 and663 to the memory device M12 or M13 through the internal command/addressbus ICA of the memory device M11.

In a write operation, the memory controller 590 provides the write data655 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) to each of the memory devices M11, M12 and M13via the data buses 522, 512 and 532 in response to the write clock WCLKafter the write latency. The write data 655 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3) may besimultaneously output to the data buses, and alternatively, sequentiallyoutput to the data buses.

The write data 655 (WRD1, WRD2 and WRD3), which are input to the memorydevices M11, M12 and M13 via the input buffer 462 thereof, are writtento the respective memory arrays 430 of the memory devices M11, M12 andM13 through the data input register 420.

In a read operation, after the command/address signal 663 having theread command is output, the read data 665 (RDD3, RDD2 and RDD1) are readto be output to the memory controller 590 through the data buses 532,512 and 522, respectively, after a time period (i.e., a CAS latencythrough the memory devices M11 and/or M12 or a CAS latency through thememory devices M11 and/or M13). The read data 665 (RDD3, RDD2 and RDD1)may be simultaneously output, or alternatively, sequentially output.

FIG. 7 shows an example of internal blocks of a DRAM device having n×mmemory cells. Although the above embodiment shows a configuration of theinternal blocks of a DRAM device, any configuration of a memory devicehaving a data bypass path and a command/address bypass path, or anyother configuration known to one of ordinary skill in the art may alsobe utilized in place of the configuration of the internal blocks of theDRAM device of FIG. 7.

Data reads and writes do not always access a memory device at a ratio of1 to 1. For example, the access frequency of the data write may besmaller than that of the data reads. Thus, the capacitive load of theDRAM and the number of the total pins of the memory system may bereduced when either the read bus or the write bus operatesindependently. When the read bus and the write bus are separated, thewrite data line may be used only as an input, and thus the write dataline may be used together with the command/address bus and may be aunidirectional data bus.

FIGS. 8A through 8D are block diagrams illustrating memory systems inwhich write data and a command/address signal are transmitted through acommon bus according to other embodiments. FIG. 9 is a timing diagramillustrating a read operation and a write operation of a memory moduleof FIG. 8A. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of apacket where write data and a command/address signal of FIGS. 8A and 8Bare merged. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a memory device inthe memory modules of FIGS. 8A through 8D. For example, data ports andcommand/address ports of a memory device respectively have 8 pins.

Referring to FIG. 8A, the memory system includes a memory module 800 aand a memory controller 890. The memory system of FIG. 8A differs fromthe memory system of FIG. 2A in that a read data bus and a write databus are separated, and the write data bus is merged with thecommand/address bus.

The data ports D1, D2 and D3 of the memory controller 890 are directlycoupled to the memory devices 820, 810 and 830 (M1, M2 and M3) throughdata buses 821, 811 and 831 (RD), respectively.

Although not shown in FIG. 8A, read clock buses 823, 813 and 833 (RCLK)of the memory controller 890 are coupled to the memory devices 820, 810and 830, respectively, via a point-to-point connection. The read dataare transferred through the read data bus RD, and the data transfer ofthe read data bus RD is unidirectional.

The write data and the command/address signal output from the WR/CA portof the memory controller 890 are directly coupled to the memory device820 via the WR/CA bus 822. The write data and the command/address signalare repeated by a repeater 1150 (refer to FIG. 11) in the memory device820, and are transferred to other memory devices 810 and 830 inside thememory module 800 a through internal WR/CA bus 819 and 829 (IWR/CA),respectively. Namely, the write data and the command/address signalinput to the memory device 820 are repeated and transferred to othermemory devices of the memory module 800 a.

For example, the command/address signal includes address information, aread command, and/or a write command, etc.

The write clock signal WCLK is provided from the memory controller 890to the memory device 820 through the write clock bus 824 (WCLK), isrepeated by the repeater 1150 in the memory device 820, and istransferred to other memory devices 810 and 830 inside the memory module800 a through internal write clock buses 817 and 827 (IWCLK),respectively.

Referring to FIG. 10, the write data and the command/address signal maybe transferred through 8 pins, and may be packet data that includeswrite data D0 through D7, the address information and operands OP3, OP2,OP1 and OP0 that each represent a kind of command, such as a readcommand and a write command, etc. The address information may includebank addresses BA3, BA2, BA1 and BA0, and addresses A9 through A0.Reserved For Use (RFU) bits represent bits that are reserved for futureuse. The write data and the command/address signal are unidirectionallytransferred as a packet format through the write data/command/addressbus (WR/CA) 822.

A burst length of the write data may be eight, or the burst length maybe different from eight.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the write and read operationsof a memory module (for example, the memory module 800 a of FIG. 8A) areexplained.

Referring to FIG. 9, the write data 903 (WRD3, WRD2 and WRD1) and thecommand/address signals 901 are input to the memory device 820 throughthe WR/CA bus 822 in response to the write clock signal WCLK. Thecommand/address signal 901 includes data write command WR and addressinformation.

In a write operation, the write data 903 (WRD3, WRD2 and WRD1) and thecommand/address signals 901 are input to a packet decoder 402 in thememory device 820, and are bypassed to an adjacent memory device. Aftera delay, i.e., an M1 repeater delay, due to a bypass path 1154, thewrite data 903 (WRD3, WRD2 and WRD1) and the command/address signals 901passed through the bypass path 1154 are input into the repeater 1150,and are repeated by the repeater 1150 in the memory device 820. Thewrite data 903 (WRD3, WRD2 and WRD1) and the command/address signals 901passed through the bypass path 1154 may still have a packet format. Thewrite data 903 (WRD3, WRD2 and WRD1) and the command/address signals 901are transferred to the memory devices 810 and 830 through the IWR/CAbuses 819 and 829.

For example, the memory controller 890 provides the write data WRD tothe WR/CA bus in an order such that the last write data WRD is to bewritten to the memory device 820 that receives the write data WRD fromthe memory controller 890. The earlier write data WRD is to be writtento memory devices 810 and 830 that receive the write data WRDretransmitted from the memory device 820. The write data WRD that was tobe written to the memory device 820 is not retransmitted to the othermemory devices 810 and 830.

In a read operation, the read data 925 (RDD3, RDD2 and RDD1) are outputto the memory controller 890 through the data buses 831, 821 and 811after the command/address signal 921 including a read command is outputafter a time period (i.e., a CAS latency through the memory devices 820and/or 810, or a CAS latency through the memory devices 820 and/or 830).The read data 925 (RDD3, RDD2 and RDD1) may be simultaneously output, oralternatively, sequentially output.

FIG. 8B is a block diagram illustrating a memory system in which writedata and a command/address signal are transmitted through a common busaccording to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8B, the memory system includes a memory module 800 band a memory controller 890. The memory module 800 b has memory devicesM1 through M5.

The data ports D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 of the memory controller 890 arecoupled to the memory devices 820, 810, 830, 840 and 850 (M1, M2, M3, M4and M5), respectively, through data buses 821, 811, 831, 841 and 851 viaa point-to-point connection. Although not shown in FIG. 8B, read clockbuses RCLK 823, 813, 833, 843 and 853 (RCLK) of the memory controller890 are coupled to the memory devices M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5,respectively, via a point-to-point connection.

The write data and the command/address signal are repeated by therepeater 1150 in the memory device 820, and are transferred to othermemory devices M2, M3, M4 and M5.

Particularly, the write data and the command/address signal output fromthe WR/CA pin of the memory controller 890 are directly coupled to thememory device 820 through the WR/CA bus 822, are repeated by therepeater 1150 in the memory device 820, and are transferred to thememory devices 810, 830, 840 and 850 in the memory module 800 b throughthe IWR/CA buses 819, 829, 844 and 854. The write data and thecommand/address signal may be unidirectionally transferred through theIWR/CA bus as a packet format.

Alternatively, the write data and the command/address signal may beinput to one of the memory devices 810, 830, 840 and 850, may berepeated by a repeater of one of the memory devices 810, 830, 840 and850, and transferred to one or more of the other memory devices.Furthermore, the write data and the command/address signal may beprovided to a subset of the memory devices 810, 820, 830, 840 and 850.Any memory device that did not receive the write data and thecommand/address signal may receive it from one of the memory devicesthat did receive it.

The write clock signal WCLK is provided to the memory device 820 via thewrite clock bus 824 from the memory controller 890, is repeated by therepeater 1150 in the memory device 820, and is transferred to othermemory devices 810, 830, 840 and/or 850 inside the memory module 800 cthrough write clock buses 817, 827, 842 and 852 (IWCLK), respectively.

In FIG. 8B, the memory device 820 transfers the write data and thecommand/address signal to the memory devices 810 and 840 through twodifferent IWR/CA buses 819 and 844, and transfers the write data and thecommand/address signal to the memory devices 830 and 850 through twodifferent IWR/CA buses 829 and 854. In addition, the memory device 820transfers the write clock signal WCLK to the memory devices 810 and 840through two different IWCLK buses 817 and 842, and the memory device 820transfers the write clock signal WCLK to the memory devices 830 and 850through two different IWCLK buses 827 and 852.

FIG. 8C is a block diagram illustrating a memory system in which writedata and a command/address signal are transmitted through a common busaccording to another embodiment.

In FIG. 8C, the memory device 820 transfers the write data and thecommand/address signal to the memory devices 810 and 840 through acommon IWR/CA bus 819, and transfers the write data and thecommand/address signal to the memory devices 830 and 850 through acommon IWR/CA bus 829. Thus, the number of the pins of the memory modulemay be reduced. In addition, the memory device 820 transfers the writeclock signal WCLK to the memory devices 810 and 840 through a commonIWCLK bus 817, and the memory device 820 transfers the write clocksignal WCLK to the memory devices 830 and 850 through a common IWCLK bus827. Thus, the number of the pins of the memory module may be reduced.

Namely, the memory device 820 transfers the write data, thecommand/address signal, and/or the write clock signal to the othermemory devices through a common pin, and thus the number of the pins ofthe memory module may be reduced.

FIG. 8D is a block diagram illustrating a memory system in which writedata and a command/address signal are transmitted through a common busaccording to still another example embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8D, data ports D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 of the memorycontroller 890 are coupled to the memory devices 820, 810, 830, 840 and850 (M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5), respectively, through data buses 821, 811,831, 841 and 851 via a point-to-point connection. Although not shown inFIG. 8D, read clock buses RCLK 813, 823, 833, 843 and 853 (RCLK) of thememory controller 890 are coupled to the memory devices M2, M1, M3, M4and M5, respectively, via a point-to-point connection.

In FIG. 8D, the repeater 1150 of the memory device 820 re-drives thewrite data and the command/address signal. The repeated write data andthe command/address signal are transferred to the memory device 810and/or 830 adjacent to the memory device 820. Then, the write data andthe command/address signal are transferred to the memory device 840and/or 850 from the memory device 810 and/or 830.

Particularly, a repeater in the memory device 810, which receives thewrite data and the command/address signal from the memory device 820,transfers the write data and the command/address signal to the memorydevice 840 adjacent to the memory device 810 in the memory module 800 d.A repeater in the memory device 830, which receives the write data andthe command/address signal from the memory device 820 transfers thewrite data and the command/address signal to the memory device 850adjacent to the memory device 830 in the memory module 800 d.

The write clock signal WCLK is provided to the memory device 820 via thewrite clock bus 824 from the memory controller 890, is repeated by therepeater 1150 in the memory device 820, and is transferred to the memorydevices 810 and/or 830 through the write clock buses 817 and 827,respectively, and then is transferred to the memory devices 840 and/or850 by the memory devices 810 and 830, respectively.

FIG. 11 shows an example of internal blocks of the DRAM devices of FIGS.8A through 8D. Although the above embodiments show a configuration ofthe internal blocks of the DRAM device of FIG. 11, any configuration ofa memory device including a repeater having a write data bypass path ora command/address bypass path, or any other configuration known to oneof ordinary skill in the art may also be utilized in place of theconfiguration of the internal blocks of the DRAM devices of FIGS. 8Athrough 8D.

FIG. 12A is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1200 a in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12A, the memory system of FIG. 12A is different fromthe memory system of FIG. 8A in that the write data, the command/addresssignal and the write clock signal are input to a memory device that isnot disposed in the middle of the memory module, and then the writedata, the command/address signal and the write clock signal aretransferred to other memory devices in the memory module.

Particularly, a memory device 1210 receives the write data and thecommand/address signal from a memory controller (not shown) through theWR/CA bus 1211, and transfers the write data and the command/addresssignal to the memory devices 1220, 1230 and 1240 in the memory module1200 a through internal WR/CA buses 1221, 1231 and 1241. The memorydevice 1210 receives the write clock signal from the memory controller(not shown) through the write clock bus WCLK 1213, and transfers thewrite clock signal to the other memory devices 1220, 1230 and 1240 inthe memory module 1200 b through internal write clock buses 1223, 1233and 1243.

That is, the memory device 1210 of FIG. 12A transfers the write data andthe command/address signal to the memory devices 1220, 1230 and 1240through three different IWR/CA buses 1221, 1231 and 1241. In addition,the memory device 1210 transfers the write clock signal WCLK to thememory devices 1220, 1230 and 1240 through three different write clockbuses 1223, 1233 and 1243 (WCLK).

FIG. 12B is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1200 b in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

Compared to FIG. 12A, the memory device 1210 in FIG. 12B transfers thewrite data and the command/address signal to the memory devices 1220,1230 and 1240 through a common IWR/CA bus 1221, and thus the number ofpins of the memory module may be reduced. In addition, the memory device1210 transfers the write clock signal WCLK to the memory devices 1220,1230 and 1240 through a common internal clock bus 1223 (IWCLK), and thusthe number of the pins of the memory module may be reduced.

The memory device 1210 transfers the write data, the command/addresssignal and/or the write clock signal WCLK to other memory devices via acommon pin, and thus the number of the pins of the memory module may bereduced.

FIG. 13A is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1300 a in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 13A, the memory system of FIG. 13A is similar to thememory system of FIG. 8A in that a memory device transfers the writedata, the command/address signal and the write clock signal WCLK to twomemory devices. The memory system of FIG. 13A is different from thememory system of FIG. 8A in that repeaters 1150 (refer to FIG. 11) ofthe first, third, fifth and seventh memory devices M1, M3, M5 and M7 areactivated so that the write data, the command/address signal and thewrite clock signal are unidirectionally transferred.

Particularly, a memory device 1310 receives the write data and thecommand/address signal from a memory controller (not shown) through theWR/CA bus 1311, and transfers the write data and the command/addresssignal to the memory devices 1320 and 1330 in the memory module 1300 athrough two different IWR/CA buses 1321 and 1331, respectively. Inaddition, the memory device 1330, which receives the write data and thecommand/address signal from the memory device 1310 through the IWR/CAbus 1331 transfers the write data and the command/address signal to thememory devices 1340 and 1350 through two different IWR/CA buses 1341 and1351, respectively. In this way, the write data and the command/addresssignal are eventually transferred from the memory devices 1370, throughother memory devices to two different memory devices 1380 and 1390.

FIG. 13B is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1300 b in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

In FIG. 13B, the memory device 1310 transfers the write data and thecommand/address signal to the memory devices 1320 and 1330 through acommon IWR/CA bus 1321, and thus the number of pins of the memory modulemay be reduced. In addition, the memory device 1330 transfers the writedata and the command/address signal, which were received from the memorydevice 1310, to the memory devices 1340 and 1350 through a common IWR/CAbus 1341, and thus the number of the pins of the memory module may bereduced. In this way, the memory device 1370 eventually transfers thetransferred write data and the command/address signal to the memorydevices 1380 and 1390 through a common IWR/CA bus 1381, and thus thenumber of the pins of the memory module may be reduced.

In addition, in the memory module 1300 b, the write clock signal WCLK istransferred by a memory device to other memory devices through commoninternal clock buses 1323, 1343, 1363 and 1383, and thus the number ofthe pins of the memory module may be reduced.

That is, the memory devices 1310, 1330, 1350 and 1370 transfer the writedata, the command/address signal and/or the write clock signal WCLK toother memory devices via common pins, and thus the number of the pins ofthe memory module may be reduced.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1500 in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 14, a first memory device 1510 (M1) of a memory module1500 having four memory devices receives a write clock WCLK, write dataand a command/address signal from a memory controller (not shown)through a write clock bus 1613 (WCLK) and a WR/CA bus 1611, andtransfers the received write clock WCLK, write data and acommand/address signal to a memory device 1520 adjacent to the firstmemory device 1510. In this way, the write clock WCLK, the write dataand the command/address signal received from the memory controller (notshown) to the first memory device 1510 are serially transferred to thesecond, third and fourth memory devices 1520, 1530 and 1540.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a memory module 1400 in whichwrite data and a command/address signal are transmitted through a commonbus according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 15, first and fifth memory devices 1410 (M1) and 1450(M5) of the eight memory devices of the memory module 1400 receive awrite clock WCLK, write data and a command/address signal from a memorycontroller (not shown) through a write clock bus 1413 (WCLK) and a WR/CAbus 1411, and transfers the received write clock WCLK, write data and acommand/address signal to memory devices 1420 (M2) and 1460 (M6)respectively adjacent to the first and the fifth memory devices 1410 and1450.

In this way, the write clock WCLK, the write data and thecommand/address signal output from the memory controller (not shown) areserially transferred to the first, second, third and fourth memorydevices 1410, 1420, 1430 and 1440, and are serially transferred to thefifth, sixth, seventh and eighth memory devices 1450, 1460, 1470 and1480.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a memory module 1650 havingmemory devices with a stack structure according to another embodiment.In the memory system of FIG. 16 a, a read data bus and a write data busare separated from each other. The write data bus is merged with acommand/address bus. The memory module of FIG. 16 may be applied to adie stack or a package stack.

Referring to FIG. 16, a first memory device 1620 of a first stackreceives a command/address signal and write data from the memorycontroller (not shown) through a WR/CA bus 1611, and transfers thereceived command/address signal and write data to a second memory device1610 disposed on the first memory device 1620. In addition, the firstmemory device 1620 transfers the command/address signal and the writedata to a third memory device 1640 of a second stack through an internalWR/CA bus (not shown). The third memory device 1640 transfers thecommand/address signal and the write data to a fourth memory device 1630disposed on the third memory device 1640.

In a similar way, a write clock signal WCLK is transferred to the first,second, third and fourth memory devices 1620, 1610, 1640 and 1630.Specifically, the first memory device 1620 receives the write clocksignal WCLK from a memory controller (not shown) through a write clockbus 1613 (WCLK), and transfers the write clock signal WCLK to the secondmemory device 1610 disposed on the first memory device 1620. Inaddition, the first memory device 1620 transfers the write clock signalWCLK to the third memory device 1640 of the second stack through aninternal write clock bus IWCLK (not shown). The third memory device 1640transfers the write clock signal WCLK to the fourth memory device 1630disposed on the third memory device 1640.

The data read from the second and fourth memory devices 1610 and 1630respectively disposed on the first and third memory devices 1620 and1640 are respectively transferred to the first and the third memorydevices 1620 and 1640 in response to a read clock signal 1614 (RCLK),and are output to the memory controller (not shown) through data buses1612 and 1632 (RD).

The memory device of FIG. 16 may have the internal blocks of the memorydevice of FIG. 11.

According to the above-described memory modules and memory systems, amemory controller is coupled to multiple memory devices viapoint-to-point connection. A repeater is implemented inside at least onememory device. The memory controller provides a command/address signalto at least one specific memory device instead of all memory devices ina memory module, and the specific memory device transfers thecommand/address signal to other memory devices in the memory module. Asa result, a capacitive loading effect due to connections to thecommand/address bus may be reduced. Thus, a desired signal integrity(SI) may be achieved when the above-described memory modules and memorysystems are applied to a memory system having an operating clockfrequency higher than one GHz.

In addition, the command/address bus may be merged with the write bus sothat the number of pins of the memory modules is reduced.

While embodiments and their advantages have been described in detail, itshould be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterationsmay be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A memory module comprising: a port configured to receive write dataand command/address signals; and a plurality of memory devicesincluding; a first set of the memory devices, each memory device of thefirst set coupled to the port; and a second set of the memory devices,each memory device of the second set configured to receive associatedwrite data and associated command/address signals for the memory devicethrough at least one of the other memory devices of the first set andthe second set.
 2. The memory module of claim 1, wherein: the first setincludes a first memory device; and the second set includes a pluralityof second memory devices, each second memory device coupled to the firstmemory device through an associated bus and configured to receive theassociated write data and the associated command/address signals throughthe associated bus.
 3. The memory module of claim 1, wherein: the firstset includes a first memory device coupled to a common bus; and thesecond set includes a plurality of second memory devices, each secondmemory device coupled to the common bus and configured to receive theassociated write data and the associated command/address signals throughthe common bus.
 4. The memory module of claim 1, wherein: the first setincludes a first memory device coupled to a plurality of common buses;and the second set includes a plurality of second memory devices, eachsecond memory device coupled to an associated one of the common busesand configured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the associated common bus such that atleast one of the second memory devices is coupled to each common bus. 5.The memory module of claim 1, wherein: the first set includes a firstmemory device coupled to a first bus; and the second set includes aplurality of second memory devices, one second memory device coupled tothe first memory device through the first bus and configured to receivethe associated write data and the associated command/address signalsthrough the first bus, each of the other second memory devices coupledto one of the second memory devices through a subsequent bus andconfigured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the associated subsequent bus such thatthe first memory device and the second memory devices are coupledserially.
 6. The memory module of claim 5, wherein: the first memorydevice is further coupled to a second bus; and the second set furtherincludes a plurality of third memory devices, one third memory devicecoupled to the first memory device through the second bus and configuredto receive the associated write data and the associated command/addresssignals through the second bus, each of the other third memory devicescoupled to one of the third memory devices through a subsequent bus andconfigured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the associated subsequent bus such thatthe first memory device and the third memory devices are coupledserially.
 7. The memory module of claim 1, wherein: the first setincludes a first memory device coupled to a plurality of first buses;the second set includes a plurality of second memory devices and aplurality of third memory devices, each second memory device coupled tothe first memory device through the associated first bus and configuredto receive the associated write data and the associated command/addresssignals through the associated first bus, each third memory devicecoupled to one of the second memory devices through an associated busand configured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the associated bus.
 8. The memory moduleof claim 1, wherein: the first set includes a first memory devicecoupled to a plurality of common buses; the second set includes aplurality of subsets of memory devices, each subset coupled to the firstmemory device through the associated common bus, each memory device ofthe subset coupled to the associated common bus and configured toreceive the associated write data and the associated command/addresssignals through the common bus.
 9. The memory module of claim 1, whereinfor each of the memory devices of the second set, the associated writedata and the associated command/address signals include all of the writedata and the command/address signals.
 10. The memory module of claim 1,wherein for each of the memory devices of the second set, the associatedwrite data and the associated command/address signals include onlycommand/address signals and write data to be stored in the memory deviceor any memory device that receives its associated write data and itsassociated command/address signals through the memory device.
 11. Thememory module of claim 1, wherein the write data is ordered in timereversed from an order in time that the write data and thecommand/address signals and the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals are to be received by the memory devices of thefirst and second sets, respectively.
 12. The memory module of claim 1,wherein at least one memory device of the first set comprises a repeaterconfigured to transfer the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals to at least one of the memory devices of thesecond set.
 13. The memory module of claim 1, wherein thecommand/address signals include packet data including at least one of aread command, a write command, and an address.
 14. The memory module ofclaim 1, wherein each of the memory devices of the first and second setincludes a data port and transmits read data to a memory controllerthrough the data port.
 15. A memory module comprising: a command/addressport configured to receive command/address signals; and a plurality ofmemory devices including; a first set of the memory devices, each memorydevice of the first set coupled to the command/address port; and asecond set of the memory devices, each memory device of the second setconfigured to receive associated command/address signals through atleast one of the other memory devices of the first set and the secondset.
 16. The memory module of claim 15, wherein: the first set includesa first memory device; and the second set includes a plurality of secondmemory devices, each second memory device coupled to the first memorydevice through an associated bus and configured to receive theassociated command/address signals through the associated bus.
 17. Thememory module of claim 15, wherein: the first set includes a firstmemory device coupled to a common bus; and the second set includes aplurality of second memory devices, each second memory device coupled tothe common bus and configured to receive the associated command/addresssignals through the common bus.
 18. The memory module of claim 15,wherein: the first set includes a first memory device coupled to aplurality of common buses; and the second set includes a plurality ofsecond memory devices, each second memory device coupled to anassociated one of the common buses and configured to receive theassociated command/address signals through the associated common bussuch that at least one of the second memory devices is coupled to eachcommon bus.
 19. The memory module of claim 15, wherein: the first setincludes a first memory device coupled to a first bus; and the secondset includes a plurality of second memory devices, one second memorydevice coupled to the first memory device through the first bus andconfigured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the first bus, each of the other secondmemory devices coupled to one of the second memory devices through asubsequent bus and configured to receive the associated write data andthe associated command/address signals through the associated subsequentbus such that the first memory device and the second memory devices arecoupled serially.
 20. The memory module of claim 19, wherein: the firstmemory device is further coupled to a second bus; and the second setfurther includes a plurality of third memory devices, one third memorydevice coupled to the first memory device through the second bus andconfigured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the second bus, each of the other thirdmemory devices coupled to one of the third memory devices through asubsequent bus and configured to receive the associated write data andthe associated command/address signals through the associated subsequentbus such that the first memory device and the third memory devices arecoupled serially.
 21. The memory module of claim 15, wherein: the firstset includes a first memory device coupled to a plurality of firstbuses; the second set includes a plurality of second memory devices anda plurality of third memory devices, each second memory device coupledto the first memory device through the associated first bus andconfigured to receive the associated write data and the associatedcommand/address signals through the associated first bus, each thirdmemory device coupled to one of the second memory devices through anassociated bus and configured to receive the associated command/addresssignals through the associated bus.
 22. The memory module of claim 15,wherein: the first set includes a first memory device coupled to aplurality of common buses; the second set includes a plurality ofsubsets of memory devices, each subset coupled to the first memorydevice through the associated common bus, each memory device of thesubset coupled to the associated common bus and configured to receivethe associated command/address signals through the common bus.
 23. Thememory module of claim 15, wherein at least one memory device of thefirst set comprises a repeater configured to transfer the associatedcommand/address signals to at least one of the memory devices of thesecond set.
 24. The memory module of claim 15, wherein thecommand/address signals include packet data including at least one of aread command, a write command, and an address.
 25. The memory module ofclaim 15, wherein each of the memory devices of the first and second setincludes a data port and transmits read data to a memory controller andreceive write data from the memory controller through the data port. 26.A memory system comprising: a plurality of memory modules, each memorymodule including: a command/address port configured to receivecommand/address signals; a first set of memory devices, each memorydevice of the first set coupled to the command/address port; and asecond set of memory devices, each memory device of the second setconfigured to receive associated command/address signals through atleast one of the other memory devices of the first set and the secondset; wherein each of the memory devices of the first and second sets iscoupled to a corresponding memory device of another memory module by anassociated data bus.
 27. The memory system of claim 26, furthercomprising a memory controller, wherein at least one memory device ofthe first set of each memory module receives the associatedcommand/address signals from the memory controller through theassociated command/address port.
 28. The memory system of claim 27,wherein for each memory module, the at least one memory device of thefirst set comprises a repeater configured to transfer the associatedcommand/address signals to at least one other memory device within thememory module including the memory device.
 29. The memory system ofclaim 27, wherein the memory modules include a first memory module and asecond memory module, each memory device of the first and second memorymodules includes a data port, each memory device of the first memorymodule exchanging data directly with the memory controller through apoint-to-point connection, and each memory device of the second memorymodule exchanging data indirectly with the memory controller through adaisy chain connection via the corresponding memory device of the firstmodule.
 30. The memory module of claim 27, wherein the command/addresssignals include packet data including at least one of a read command, awrite command, and an address.
 31. The memory system of claim 26,wherein the memory modules are serially coupled to each other by thedata busses.
 32. The memory system of claim 26, wherein for each memorydevice coupled to a plurality of data buses, the memory devicecomprising a repeater configured to repeat data on one bus as data onanother bus.
 33. The memory system of claim 26, wherein thecommand/address port configured to further receive write data.